Handicrafts

We are located at the foot of Škalce vineyards. Škalce is one of the most beautiful and best wine-growing locations. This all belongs to the Podravje wine-growing region, the Maribor wine-growing district, the Obronki Pohorja – southern Pohorje district and the Konjice narrower district.

In our area, the Celts – who came before the Romans – already knew the grapevine. The Slavs who came from behind the Carpathian mountains became acquainted with it only between 500 and 600 AD.

The oldest evidence of the existence of vineyards in the upper Dravinja hills in Konjice dates back to 1173. Winegrowing is also mentioned in the written sources of the French Carthusian Order from the Žiče Carthusian Monastery (1165 – 1782).When visiting the monastery in May 1487, Paolo Santonino wrote in his Travel Diary that the Carthusians had more wine in their cellars in the 15th century than all the rest of the province combined. They also had vineyards in excellent locations in Škalce, where today, on a circular complex, 80 hectares of their selected grape species are produced by the Zlati Grič Wine Cellar.

The general economic crisis between 1812 and 1818 affected all of the Austrian Empire and, of course, the agriculture of the Dravinja Hills. Due to the greatly elevated price of wheat many winegrowers found themselves in trouble or even had to go into debt. The parishes, landowners and farmers began to renovate the vineyards, thus creating a new hope for agriculture. Various quality grape varieties were cultivated, which came from France and are still well known today. These are various Rieslings, Traminers, Muscats and Burgundians etc. Due to the new varieties, the wine began to gain in quality and, consequently, in price. As the winegrowers drank little wine, they were able to sell most of it. A new catastrophe struck viticulture again at the end of the 19th century, when the vines were attacked by the vine louse, an incurable disease that came from America. Many were destroyed, and the vineyards, as they were until 1850, will most likely never be seen again. Today, we can boast that Slovenian winemaking is developing, as we give priority to quality rather than quantity. There may be a little less wine, but itis of a higher quality than that produced during the time of socialism.

Everyone can try to make wine, but only people with a lot of love, respect and knowledge can produce a premium drop that others will like. When drinking wine, it is necessary to think about how much love, free time and effort (sweat) has been put into this drop to be as good as it is. A man capable of producing wine that other people also like must be especially respected.

Žvikart beekeeping boasts a family tradition of over 60 years. The beekeeper’s’s mission has evolved from a few amateur bee colonies to about 350 hives. Bees from their hives graze in the unspoiled nature of the vast Pohorje forests and meadows and in the quiet valley of St. John the Baptist, in the vicinity of the picturesque  Žiče Carthusian Monastery, a former monastery from the 12th century.

In addition to seven different types of honey, such as floral, acacia, chestnut, linden, forest and walnut, they also produce pollen, royal jelly and propolis, propolis tincture products and a mixture of honey, pollen, propolis tincture and royal jelly, called melamine mixture, in which the healing effects of individual ingredients are supplemented. A few years ago, they also started producing beetroot juice stabilised with honey, which contains a lot of iron. They have been successfully preparing and selling honey cream spread, better known as cream honey, for several years. As a novelty, they offer a cream spread made of honey with a taste of hazelnut, vanilla and cinnamon. The ancient Slavs loved mead and Slovenians still love it today. However, since it is not very tasty in its ancient form, their beekeeping makes honey brandy and honey blueberry liqueur, which is best enjoyed on cold evenings.

They also present the work they do to visitors, excursionists and tourists who visit Slovenske Konjice. They present their work, equipment and talk about the importance of beekeeping for the preservation of the natural environment to larger groups. When choosing products and presenting a rich treasure trove of bee products, you will be assisted by their certified apitherapist. In 2003, they obtained a certificate of excellence in the field of apitourism within the Slovenian beekeeping routes with as many as three different bees.

In the village of Žiče, in the immediate vicinity of Kalšek basket weaving, there is the extremely picturesque and interesting Majnika Herbal Garden, which offers over 160 different types of herbs. The garden reflects the hard-working hands of the members of the Temnik family, headed by Mrs. Majda, whose long-standing dreams came true with the planting of the garden. She has been a big fan of herbs since her youth, as evidenced by the fact that she bought the book Medicinal Plants and Their Use by Richard Willfort with her first award for success in high school.

The garden is intended for sightseeing, educational activities and the sale of herbs grown in a biodynamic way. In addition to various tea blends, Majda and Katja are best known for their herbal salt, Majnika, which consists of traditional Piran salt and 18 types of herbs and vegetables. With the addition of a special tuber, they upgraded this salt, so Majnika Premium Herbal Salt also contains a root of light that has the ability to introduce light into the human body.

Do you want to know how the name Majnika came about? Just go to visit Majda and Katja, who, in addition to this, will reveal another secret from their herb garden.

The Kalšek – Podkrajšek tourist farm in Žiče produces original wickerwork products that are typical of the Dravinja Valley area. Their products are made of willow wicker with coated, bleached branches, in the preparation of which they invest a lot of effort and work. If you visit them, they will show you how they weave willow wicker and make products that can serve as useful items or souvenirs. You can also try weaving yourself. You can also buy products such as baskets and braided bottles from them.

At the homestead, you can also taste several types of homemade wine (blue franconian, white pinot, yellow muscat and sauvignon) and homemade spirits (plum brandy, pear brandy from old pear varieties, wine brandy and blueberry brandy) and enjoy a homemade snack and relax in a quiet environment among the vineyards on the slope of Žička gorca.

In the village of Žiče , you will find “Kokotčeva hiša”, which is more than 350 years old and used to be the home of the House of Culture, and today they are reviving the tradition of artistic blacksmithing.

Art Smithing Kokotec is a small family business, where they are engaged in the production of forged fences, courtyard doors, chandeliers and other individual forged elements. In addition to blacksmithing, they are also engaged in the production of clay products with an emphasis on clay shaders. Otherwise, amongst their clay products, you will find chandeliers, candlesticks, souvenirs and various products as gifts or for festive occasions.

The Žičnica stream offers suitable conditions to drive the sawmill and mill which, at one time, were very important to the area. At the Bezenšek Homestead there is a mill and a sawmill, which are part of our technical heritage.

The mill in Žiče was supposed to operate during the time the Carthusians were in the Žiče Carthusian Monastery. Since 1800, the smaller estate, with the mill, has passed through the hands of various owners, but nevertheless the brick, thicker part of the mill has been preserved. Finally, the mill passed into the hands of Franc Bezenšek who, in 1999,and  together with his family, entirely renovated the mill and made a water wheel out of naturally twisted wood.

In addition to the mill, you will also see a Venetian sawmill at the Bezenšek Homestead which was installed on 12th August, 1858. A wooden building with a timber sawing device has undergone some changes and improvements over the years. The saw is driven by water that flows onto a large outer wheel, causing the saw blade to move and cut.